HEREFORDSHIRE'S Chaz Davies is now second in the World Superbike Championship standings following another excellent weekend.

The Kinsham rider won the second race of the Malaysian GP to follow up on his double success at Laguna Seca in the USA.

Despite being overtaken by championship leader Jonathan Rea, Davies powered past him to win by a narrow 0.091seconds.

"I saw that Johnny was closing in and it took everything I had to hold him off," Davies told the official World Superbike website.

"It was a battle to the line again, and through the last corner when we made contact I thought it was all over, but fortunately we both stayed upright and I was able to cross the line in front."

Davies, riding for Ducati, also finished second in the first race in another close battle with Rea.

"Race One went really well, especially considering where we were on Saturday when I was thinking we’d do well to finish top six," added Davies.

“We made some changes overnight that put us in a position to fight for the win, though we were still missing something in the last laps in terms of the grip and electronics working together.

"I’m so pleased about Sunday’s results, obtained at one of the most difficult tracks for us," Davies added.

"This shows how much progress we’ve made up until now.

"I’m also pleased to have moved into second place in the standings, having made up a lot of points over Tom (Sykes)."

It was Davies' eighth WSB win after the former World Supersport champion stepped up a level in 2011.